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Liberty Tree Tavern

Liberty Tree Tavern Dining Review: Beyond the Thanksgiving Feast

March 13, 2020

This past Christmas we tried something new and booked a visit to Disney’s Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day (make sure to check out our recap article on 5 lessons learned). We knew we wanted a cozy holiday meal, and decided to book a mid-day reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern. This colonial-style table service restaurant is known best for family-style Thanksgiving meals. More recently they have also added some a la carte options too which we decided to explore this time. Read on to hear about this hearty dining option…

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In Foods & Drinks, Parks Tags Dining Review, Walt Disney World, Magic Kingdom, Lunch
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We enjoyed romantic meals at Disney for almost half the cost!

We enjoyed romantic meals at Disney for almost half the cost! (Credit: Disney)

The Disney Deluxe Dining Plan Hack: How We Saved Nearly 50%

March 10, 2020

When it comes to deciding on whether or not to get the Disney Dining Plan we are usually a hard pass. But on a recent trip to Walt Disney World we decided to do a little experiment. We saw an opportunity to be strategic and took on the challenge of seeing how much we could save with the priciest option: the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan. We are proud to say that we absolutely slayed this challenge and far surpassed our expectations of coming out ahead. And we felt like we were drinking champagne on a beer budget (even if it was a Disney priced beer budget lol.) So let us break it down and explain exactly what we did to “hack” the Disney Deluxe Dining plan to save nearly half the cost of what we consumed…

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In Foods & Drinks, Money/Budget Tags Disney Dining Plan, Walt Disney World, Dining Review, Dining Package
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Narcoossees - Grand Floridian

Narcoossee's Review: A Perfect Date Night at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort

February 27, 2020

Many people ask us what is our favorite restaurant on Disney property and the truth is there are so many that we love it can be hard to pick just one. But today we wanted to write about one of our favorites that we think is a perfect spot for a special date night out. At Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, one of our favorite resorts, you can find Narcoossee’s. This casual elegance restaurant features coastal cuisine dishes. We recently dined here on Christmas Eve, read on for a full review from that night…

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In Foods & Drinks, Resorts & Hotels Tags Walt Disney World, Grand Floridian, Narcoossees, Dinner, Date Idea
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California Grill Plate set up.

Disneyland Paris California Grill Review: Our Top Signature Dining Experience!

February 1, 2020

While visiting Disneyland Paris and using the Premium Half Board Dining Plan, we were able to dine at some of the top restaurants at the resort. On our last night of our trip the concierge at our hotel was nice enough to snag us a reservation at one of the fanciest places. We were excited to cap off our trip with a dinner at California Grill, located inside the luxurious Disneyland Hotel. While there is a California Grill in Florida, these two restaurants are pretty different from each other. Read on to hear our experience at this signature location (and for some of our best food photography to date!) Also, if you want to see all of our articles about Disneyland Paris you can see them listed at the bottom of this article or we recommend to start here: 2 Disney Loving Americans Go International (Part 1): How to Plan a Trip to Disneyland Paris…

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In Parks, Foods & Drinks Tags Disneyland Paris, Paris, Dining Review, Disneyland Hotel, France, Dinner
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Welcome to the Wildest Show in the West! (Photo from disneylandparis.com)

Welcome to the Wildest Show in the West! (Photo from disneylandparis.com)

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Dinner Show: Is This Disneyland Paris Experience Worth It?

January 8, 2020

While visiting Disneyland Paris we had purchased a Premium Dining Plan. This plan allowed us access to more restaurant options and some special experiences like character dining not included with lower level plans. One of the options available happened to be for a dinner show located in the Disney Village area called “Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show... with Mickey and Friends: The Wildest Show in the West!” We had heard many people loved it and figured we should check it out one night. Was it worth ponying up one of our meal plan credits? Well saddle up and read on to learn more…

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In Foods & Drinks Tags Disneyland Paris, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Dinner Show, Dining Review, Paris, France, Disney Village, Dinner
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Walts Disneyland Paris

Walt's - An American Restaurant: Does This Disneyland Paris Icon Live Up to the Hype?

December 5, 2019

When planning our visit to Disneyland Paris we wanted to carefully select the best dining options at restaurants that would be unique to this park. One place quickly rose to the top of our list: Walt’s - An American Restaurant. Andrew is a huge fan of Walt Disney history and when we heard this was the theme of the restaurant, and also that is was one of the higher-end options available on our Premium dining plan we really wanted to check it out. Walt’s had just gone through a refurb but opened the week we were visiting so we were lucky enough to snag a time for lunch. Did this restaurant live up to the hype? Read on to find out what we thought…

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In Parks, Foods & Drinks Tags Disneyland Paris, Dining Review, Walt's, Paris, France
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Two of our Sangrias we enjoyed at Sangria University.

Two of our Sangrias we enjoyed at Sangria University.

Sangria University at Coronado Springs: Get Your Drink On at Disney World!

November 26, 2019

This month a new adult experience has officially launched on Disney property. Introducing: Sangria University at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Offered exclusively at Three Bridges Bar & Grill, this fun class is a unique opportunity to both learn, and get your drink on. So read on to hear all the details on this activity that is perfect for adults to enjoy while on Disney property.

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In Foods & Drinks, Special Experience Tags Walt Disney World, Coronado Springs Resort, Dining Review, Sangria University, Drinks
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Behind these doors, a signature dining experience awaits…

Behind these doors, a signature dining experience awaits…

Bull & Bear Waldorf Astoria Orlando: Our Splurge-Worthy Dining Review

November 13, 2019

We recently had the pleasure of staying at the Hilton Bonnet Creek (make sure to check out our resort review too), and one of the best things about staying at this hotel is you have access to also enjoy their sister property Waldorf Astoria Orlando. As you would expect, there are some high-end dining experiences here, and the list includes one of the finest steakhouses: Bull & Bear. We knew this meal would be a fancy splurge, but little did we know it would end up being one of the most memorable dinners we’ve ever had. Read on for all of the delicious details…

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In Foods & Drinks Tags Waldorf Astoria, Bull and Bear, Dining Review, Bonnet Creek, Dinner, Drinks, Orlando/Florida
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Update: Why We Changed Our Name to The Orlando DINKs

Yup, you read that correctly, after 6 years of being known as The Disney DINKs, we are officially changing our name to The Orlando DINKs.

While changing one word doesn’t seem like a huge change, it feels pretty huge to us since this has been our identity for so long. There are a few reasons why we decided to make the change, some of which are directly related to Disney and some that aren’t. Before we really get into it, we want to be very clear that this article isn’t an intent to bash Disney by any means. We have had amazing experiences related to Disney, from our wedding, multiple Anniversary trips on both coasts, and Disneyland Paris. Being Disney Vacation Club members has allowed us to experience some amazing destinations including Hawaii, Hilton Head Island, and Vero Beach. None of these would have been possible without DVC. We have also had the pleasure of sharing these experiences with friends and family throughout the years. So while it may seem like we are quitting Disney, we certainly are not (and please note we are even keeping our fun mouse ear branding!) Read on to learn more…

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Moving Near the Mouse: Moving to Orlando to be a Disney Local
Moving Near the Mouse: Moving to Orlando to be a Disney Local

Everyone dreams about moving to their happy place whether it be the country, the mountains, or, in our case, near the house of the mouse. Last year we were able to make our dreams a reality and left Maryland to start a new chapter in Orlando. It’s hard to believe it, but we have now been Floridians for one year! We wanted to take a look back at this last year and chat about:

  • How we pulled off a big cross country move last year

  • What we are loving and missing now being in FL

  • A peek into our home (with several before and after projects!)

  • and finally, how our Disney habits have changed now being locals

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Setting Sail on a Disney Specialty Cruise with a Private Fireworks View

With the July 4th fireworks at Walt Disney World canceled this year, we figured it was the perfect time to reminisce about a special fireworks experience we had last fall. We are always amazed at the amount of special activities and tours available at Disney and booking a private specialty fireworks cruise was one awesome time. Technically our friends Max and Niki had booked the experience for their honeymoon, but they let us crash the party and come along (how nice are they right?). One night last fall our group of four enjoyed some drinks at the Top of the World then set sail on our private pontoon. Read on to hear all about our enchanted evening sailing.

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Is Disney Vacation Club Worth It? A DVC Review & Guide
Is Disney Vacation Club Worth It? A DVC Review & Guide

If you have read some of our resort reviews before, you may have figured out that we are Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members. We have been blue card holders since 2013 and have used our membership in various ways. We find that we get a lot of questions about DVC, with the most frequent being “Is DVC worth it?” It can be a bit confusing at first to figure out how the membership exactly works so we wanted to break it down for our readers. With this article we will be covering…

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Our Story: Why We Started The Disney DINKs Blog (Dual Income, No Kids & Disney Travel!)
Our Story: Why We Started The Disney DINKs Blog (Dual Income, No Kids & Disney Travel!)

We were recently asked to participate in a “Disney Friends Blog Hop” for people to discover other Disney blogs in the community. (You can learn a little more about that at the the bottom of this post!) We also realized with many new visitors recently it may be a good time to share a bit more about the two authors behind the posts. There are two things we tend to get asked pretty frequently. Many people are curious of how we decided to launch a Disney based blog geared towards an adult crowd. Many people are also curious about the term “DINKs” (Dual Income No Kids) and we wanted to touch a bit on our journey to decide to be childfree. So here is a little peek into the world of Julie and Andrew…

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🐾 Saying goodbye to our sweet little James… 

We brought James (and his brother Jesse) home as tiny kittens on Valentine’s weekend in 2010. We were lucky enough to raise both of them from playful little kittens into old, delicate gentle
I lava you… 🫶

Loved that @disneyphotopass was able to capture some beach photos for us on our recent trip to @disneyaulani. We always have such magical memories thanks to @disneyvacationclub, and Disney’s Aulani resort in Hawaii is one

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